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118 LOUISVILLE MAGAZINE 8.14
style
fashion
Two summers ago Louisville native Jack DuFour
and his girlfriend, Alley Heffern, were in Uganda
as part of a student nonproft at Virginia Tech,
and the couple fell in love with fabrics display-
ing the country's traditional colors and patterns.
Heffern sewed a skirt out of it. DuFour had a
seamstress copy his JanSport backpack. Then
the engineering graduates took it further and
started Taaluma Totes, selling backpacks ($65,
taalumatotes.com) made of fabric from develop-
ing countries and using part of the profts to
fund microloans in those countries. "Microloans
are not as much dumping stuff over there, not
a handout," DuFour says at the Heine Broth-
ers' Coffee on Chenoweth Lane — the couple's
new favorite offce. "It's so much more powerful;
people can use it to create something." DuFour
and Heffern, both 24, have sold 1,000 totes and
given a total of $6,000 in microloans to people
in 10 countries, allowing men and women to
farm, fsh and open storefronts.
When they're not in Indonesia, Guatemala,
Ivory Coast or a handful of other countries
hunting for fabric, DuFour and Heffern split time
between Blacksburg, Virginia, and Louisville,
crashing with family and saving every penny.
With the majority of their connections at U of L
and Virginia Tech, the couple started a campus
ambassador program to spread their "carry a
country" message.
A nonproft that hires adults with disabilities
manufactures the totes in Victoria, Virginia, an
old textile town near where Heffern grew up
and where many jobs have shipped to other
countries. "It's an at-home beneft in addition
to an overseas beneft," Heffern says. "They
make military jackets, so it's great for durabil-
ity." Burlap from recycled coffee bags lines the
pocket faps.
"'Taaluma' means 'culture' in Swahili," DuFour
says. "It made sense, as we were in Africa when
we came up with the idea and our overall goal
is to connect cultures and show the beauty of
the developing world."
Photo by Chris Witzke
CARRY A
COUNTRY
Mali
Ivory Coast Ghana
Mali Indonesia
— Mary Chellis Austin